Fallout: Equestria, Project Horizons

Chapter 45: Meatlocker

Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons
By Somber
Chapter 45: Meatlocker

"These ponies don't want a party. These ponies want a PARRR-TAY!"

"Get the lights," I hissed, waving my hoof at the switch on the far side of the room. There were few ponies that could induce the same kind of bowel-loosening anxiety as the one with the dragon-killer cannons bolted to the sides of his armor. It wasn't the weapons that made a terrified little pony in me scream and claw the walls, though; Deus had used guns like that, but he hadn't induced the same kind of terror Steel Rain did. The Seekers and the other Steel Rangers had both firepower and numbers, but I could handle that.
What scared me about Steel Rain was that he was a smart pony. He didn't just charge after me screaming 'CUNT' and blowing holes in the countryside. He was deliberate and cautious and didn't allow little details to slip by him, and, unlike Deus, he was a plotter and leader in his own right and on a far larger scale. On top of all that, the fact that he had blown my face off once already didn't help.
So as Stygius turned off the lights, I ducked down and watched nervously as the five spread out. Of course, the dimness wouldn't do us that much good; one look at his E.F.S. would tell him where we were.
Or would it? My E.F.S. was useless with all the spritebots milling around; his couldn't be much better. We might have a chance here, slim as it was, to avoid a messy end. Okay... how, exactly? I needed options. Hide somewhere upstairs? He'd search it. Try to bolt out a window? They were all sealed and reinforced. Try to blow him up with the moonstone? I'd used up the flake of starmetal. Barring some exceptional shooting, I didn't have any heavy weapons that would penetrate their armor.
I needed better options.
"Dealer," I said under my breath. "Hey, Dealer! I need to talk to you. Dealer! Please... Come on... you've been bouncing in and out of my consciousness for a month now. This time I need to talk to you!" Stygius gave me a worried look, clearly alarmed by this new crazy.
Outside, one of Steel Rain's Rangers stepped forward, some kind of heavy-duty flamer on one side and a different-looking, longer-barreled kind of flamer on the other. Wasn't one variety of fire-spewing weapon enough? Suddenly, sooty orange flames sprayed out in burning plumes that engulfed the spritebots. Dozens crackled and died by the second, their wings disintegrating in a shower of embers and their round bodies popping explosively. More rushed in to attack fruitlessly and met the same fate. The long grass disappeared in immense clouds of smoke, and the vacant birdhouses blazed brightly before tumbling apart. The fire washed over the windows, and I jumped back. The outside of the house wouldn't catch fire, but that wouldn't do us much good once the Rangers were inside.
"Dealer!" I shouted.
Then I spotted a flicker. At first I thought it might be another vision, but then I saw the ghostly buck appear. He looked older and more gaunt than usual. He strained and groaned as he looked at me. "Yes, Blackjack? What is it?"
I stared at him; it had never occurred to me that contact might be difficult for him. I'd always thought he just sat in my PipBuck and emerged whenever he wanted to mess with me. That he didn't know what was going on also suggested that he wasn't monitoring me every second. "We're at Goldenblood's house. I found it. But we're about to be attacked by Steel Rangers and I need a back door out of this place."
"What?" His eyes widened. "How'd they get through the shield? Only designated ministry ponies can pass."
"Maybe he's got an Apple relative with him," I countered. Heck, for all I knew Steel Rain himself could be a member of the family, maybe a descendant of Braeburn. Wouldn't surprise me. "However they're here, they're here, and we need to not be."
He closed his eyes a moment. "I really hoped you wouldn't destroy it. Fluttershy loved that house."
He was concerned about the house? "Look, Dealer, I know it's a nice house, but..."
He gave a small sympathetic smile and nodded. "I know. Your enemies seldom give you a choice." He flickered a bit; I wanted to ask if he was okay, but I had no idea how long we had till Steel Rain came knocking. "The T-51 armor has a serious spark vulnerability. It was something they were addressing in the T-54 models, but those never reached deployment. If you overload the generator attached to the water wheel, it should discharge a spark pulse. That should give you a chance to get away. There's an access panel in the kitchen."
"Okay! Great. Sounds like a plan." I turned and took three steps towards the kitchen, then slowed before looking back at him. "And how exactly do I do that?" I asked sheepishly.
The Dealer's legs were fading from view. "Your friend's ultrasonic voice should foul the crystals in the generator." Suddenly he paused and looked at Stygius, then arched a brow at me; funny how he managed to pull off looking parental. "And Blackjack, was that really necessary?"
I flushed bright red; I could have died right there and then. Ugh, he'd been... while he... and I... UGH! And he wanted to discuss my sex life now? "Yes," I said flatly, fighting the urge to shudder. Celestia, how did he do the Look? It was like finding out Mom had spied on me fooling around. And Duct Tape had been so embarrassed too.
He chuckled, shaking his head and smirking. "Glory is going to kill you." I was about to ask why when a patter of spritebot parts against the window reminded us both that this was not the time. "The charge will build up till the crystals explode and let out a spark pulse. Then you run for your life."
"Great. Like that never gets old," I said with a sigh, rolling my eyes a little. I actually got a laugh out of the Dealer.
"Everypony in the Wasteland chases you, Blackjack. It's your thing." More of him faded away, curling off in misty tatters.
"Are you okay?" I asked in concern.
"It's just... hard... to make contact when I'm not strong enough." His voice became more strained as he disappeared from sight. "Please, try to spare the house..."
Stygius was just staring at me with a baffled look. "Okay... something I left out... um..." How best to explain it? "I have a ghost that lives in my PipBuck." Okay... now bafflement was turning to concern. "A helpful ghost of a pony that knows a lot of stuff..." And is infuriatingly slow to share it. "He says your sonic scream thing can foul the crystals in the generator and make it explode." He blinked, scratched his chin, and then nodded with a smile. I could have kissed him. Again...
We found the little access panel in the kitchen in the back wall, hidden behind the stove, after some frantic searching. The door was so tiny I wondered if Goldenblood employed colts to maintain it. I looked at Stygius. "Can you squeeze through there?" Maybe if he took off his armor... The batpony just snorted and waved his hoof dismissively as he nodded. "Okay. Make it overload and get clear." And please don't die.
He struck another noble pose, and I gave him a hug before turning to my saddlebags. "Take care of your--" I said, then looked up for a moment. He was gone. "Self?"
I peeked through the open panel and saw him standing on the far side next to some equipment. Wow. I knew he was flexible, but...
Focus, Blackjack. I pulled out Vigilance, loaded the magazines with armor piercing rounds, and set the weapon on the kitchen island. Next the sword. The Ranger armor had all kinds of hoses and the like that I could target. Then the shotgun. I fished out every blue spark round I had and alternated them with explosive slugs. Hopefully I'd have a weapon left after this. Finally Duty and Sacrifice; well, they might be better than nothing. I stowed each weapon away. Right now I really wished I still had Taurus's rifle. Actually, right now I wished I had one of those anti-machine rifles.
Three pistols and a shotgun seemed pitiful compared to even one Ranger's armament. I popped my E.F.S. on... and saw only five bars remaining. And they were standing right outside the front door. Funny... one of them was blue. I heard the door click and then slowly creak open as I ducked down. Heavy metal hoofsteps entered. All I had was the element of... oh shit. I heard the hollow, staccato rattle of a grenade machine gun going off.
Oh, this was going to suck!
The next instant I was racing around the kitchen island as the grenades exploded, the shrapnel ripping the cupboards into splinters, pulverizing the fine plates and sending the pots and pans flying. The Steel Ranger in the doorway traced after me, the stream of explosions tearing the walls apart, leaving shattered wood and spilling insulation in their wake. Smoke, dust, and powdered plaster filled the air as I floated the shotgun overhead and fired wildly at the Steel Ranger at the door. The explosive rounds blackened the metal and nothing else, and the spark rounds crackled over the armor but weren't enough to shut it down.
It did throw off his aim enough to buy me time, though; I leapt through the door to the library and rolled as two more grenades followed me through. I darted behind the heavy desk as they blew, peppering me with chunks of carpet and shards of metal. The sturdy wood seemed tougher than I expected, sheltering me from the storm of exploding bombs.
Just as quickly as it started, the assault stopped. This was the part I dreaded. "Security," Steel Rain said calmly. "The M.o.M. was notified of a Ministry Mare trespassing on a crime scene. You have no idea how glad I am that it was you. The Prophet was convinced you were hiding in the Mire or at Ironmare."
"How'd you know?" I asked as I saw two bars moving towards the door.
"I suspected. You've proven remarkably adept at eluding pursuit," he replied evenly.
"Gee, thanks," I muttered. I couldn't risk poking my head out. A red bar slowly moved around to the side; I could feel the hoofsteps through the floor. "Aren't you going to ask me for EC-1101?" The bar stopped.
"I know you won't surrender it to me." I had to stall. I had to hope Stygius could do something with the generator. "However, now that I've seen this place's defenses, I know that there must be something worthwhile here."
"How'd you get through the bubble?" I demanded.
"That hardly matters at the moment, correct? As I'm sure you're tired of hearing, the Harbingers want that PipBuck. As a matter of fact, their leader wanted it even before you left your stable. I had to convince them to expand and get more organized. Establish combat teams. Use radios. Oh, what I could do with a year, their resources, and unrestricted command!" His voice strained with equal parts ambition and frustration.
Then he regarded me a moment and continued. "I, however, am willing to cut a deal. It's rather straightforward and predictable, and I know you'll decline, but I feel I should at least offer you your life for the device." My mane was squirming so hard that I could practically feel anti-dragon rounds aimed at the desk. "I'd prefer that it be handed over intact."
He probably didn't know if his artillery would damage it. A saving grace. For now; this was one time when the famed durability of PipBucks was against me. Come on, Stygius, please hurry... "Hmmm, let me think about it..."
The red bar suddenly charged around the corner. I had only the soft huff of flame to give me warning that it was Flamers. As he came into view, I slipped into S.A.T.S. and blasted him with three perfectly aimed shots to the head, two explosive and one spark... that still did pretty much nothing against his armor. The explosions and crackling blue right in front of his face fazed him for a second, though, and that was a second I used to dive between his widespread forehooves just as one of the flamers poured fire beneath the desk!
Rolling out behind him, I stood and swapped to Vigilance. The pistol shots dinged the back of the helmet and hopefully made his ears hurt a little, but I'd be lucky if they did that much. That's it. Next Seeker I came across, I was keeping their anti-machine rifle. This was ridiculous! I kept behind the Ranger with the flamer as he twisted this way and that, trying to line up a shot. At least he couldn't attack me bac--
Oh, wow. Ranger power armor can applebuck. And it was an excellent method of travel, sending me flying like a cyber ragdoll across the room and into the bookshelf. The impact sent down a shower of books atop me as I sat in a heap at the bottom. I shook off the little orbiting Stygiuses in time to see the flamer pony wheeling around to face me, one of the weapons already starting to fire.
My horn flashed as I pulled every last book on the shelf I could down atop my head while the flamer spewed. The entire wooden cabinet crashed down atop me, burying me alive beneath broken wood and texts. I felt my whole world getting hot as I curled up beneath the books, wondering how many seconds this 'protection' would last. Flamers were really working their way up my list of most hated things ever.
Then the fwoosh of the flamer was replaced by the crackle of burning books and bookcase as the stream was cut off. It was now or never! I exploded out from the heap of burning books and wood. My horn grabbed the flaming debris around me and threw it at the flamer pony in a fiery storm.
Of course, it didn't do anything, but the smoking cloud obscured his vision enough that when he painted the wall with a second sheet of flame, his stream went high and wide; I was on my hooves and running, trailing a cloud of embers behind me. I darted for the door as I leapt through the smoke cloud... and skidded to a stop at the sight of the machine grenade pony standing in my way.
I backflipped away like a zebra -- and how in Equestria did my body pull that off?! -- just before the floor erupted in a burst of small explosions. I twisted in the air and landed on my hooves on the burning desk. A second jump took me to the only cover I could count on in the room: the back of Flamers. Grenades halted his fire as my fingers came out and grabbed the air hoses running alongside Flamers's neck. He began to buck and kick wildly, spraying plumes of fire, but I was high enough on his back and metal enough to not cook... yet.
Grenades stepped back, and then the Ranger armed with miniguns stepped into his place. Suddenly my cover wasn't as safe as I'd anticipated. Minigun opened fire, spraying Flamers with a rain of small caliber rounds that would do nothing to him and plenty to me. Burning was better than being perforated. I rolled off to the side, keeping Flamers between me and him as fire licked at my belly.
This was getting ugly.
Then Stygius appeared, flashing into view and smacking Minigun with all four hooves. It was about as effective as my shotgun, but it did stagger and distract the Ranger for a second. Then he turned to deal with the flying threat, and the danger the batpony had drawn away from me started threatening him. At least he was good at dodging. The thumping chatter of Grenades's grenade machinegun reverberated in the far room. I had a few seconds to try and deal with Flamers. He was turning towards me, spraying a constant stream of fire across the back windows. If he couldn't burn me, he'd simply cook the room.
Wait. Where was Steel Rain? I looked around, and a tiny pink pony in my mind held a little felt (...felt?) arrow pointing at a red bar over in the workshop next door.
Somehow, I didn't see Steel Rain having the same aversion to causing friendly fire that Grenades had demonstrated.
I leapt as far across the burning floor as I could; direction didn't matter. A second later, the wall between the rooms became one of pressure, debris, and noise that snuffed out some of the blaze and tossed me end over end. I didn't know if Flamers took a direct hit or not, but he was buried under a heap of burning rubble. My body ached in pain from the concussion and burns as I slowly pushed myself to my hooves. I had to press on, a little white pony informed me. Hold on, endure, and be fabulous.
Steel Rain stepped through the hole he'd just blasted, his cannons ejecting the spent rounds and sending them flying back in great smoking arcs and bouncing into the room behind him. "Incredible. Just incredible. I've found hellhounds less tenacious." Those immense guns gave an ominously deep 'thunk', loading another pair of rounds. Trailing smoke and bits of flaming debris, I charged in the only direction left to me: straight at him.
I leapt at him a split second before he fired, the shockwave slamming into me as I wrapped my forelegs around his neck and grabbed the back of it with my fingers. The shells blew out a huge section of the wall; even the reinforced construction wasn't enough to keep the house intact. I stared into his glowing eye panels and floated Vigilance up. Point blank, I emptied the remainder of the clip into his head.
I think I cracked the eye visor for my trouble. What, was his armor even tougher than the standard model?! Steel Rain didn't banter or make some snide comment, nor was he going to let me reload or stay this close. Instead he turned and charged straight into the wall, smashing me through the layer of plaster, wood, and insulation and onto the stone behind. I heard parts inside me crunch and a pressure burst up my throat. I vomited a bloody foam over his face as I struggled to push him away, breathe, or something.
'Something' came in the form of the sword. I slashed at his neck, but though the edge was magically sharp and it did cut a line in his metal, it was far too little. Maybe if I had half a minute of him standing still, I could saw through. He wasn't going to give me that. He reared back and rammed the wall again. I felt my vision start to go black. Then I slashed at the hoses leading towards the muzzle of his armor. The thick rubber, likely resistant to normal damage, parted under the sword's edge like warm butter. I had no idea what harm I'd done to him, but hopefully it was something. I sliced the other one for good measure.
He moved back and charged one more time. I let go, falling beneath him as the Steel Ranger smashed clear through the wall. I fought to breathe; my vision was full of all kinds of damage alerts. I staggered out of the smoky room, needing a breather. Needing help. I found myself in the hazy workshop and collapsed. I had no idea if I could make myself regenerate faster. Probably not...
From the living room came more shots and explosions. Tears ran down my sooty cheeks. I looked at my PipBuck. I set it to broadcast, closed my eyes, and then rasped out, "This is Blackjack. I need help. Please. I'm by Black Pony Mountain. Please, I need help now." I could only pray that the Seekers didn't know Blackjack was Security. Not that anypony else was likely to be in a position to get here in time, but I was out of ideas.
Stygius was suddenly by my side, so abruptly that it was like he appeared from thin air. He was coated in sweat, smoke and ash were spattered across his hide, and he had more than a few small holes in him. He held a healing potion in his mouth and firmly pressed it to my lips. I knew it wouldn't do much for me, but I drank it anyway. It might not have instantly fixed crushed internal organs, but I had to admit that I did actually feel a little better.
"Thanks," I coughed as I glanced around. Steel Rain had us cornered. Two Rangers were by the door and one was by the hole he'd blasted. "Any clue when that generator is going to overload?" The batpony shook his head. Then my eyes moved up and looked at the underside of the workbench. There was a little button there. Now why would Goldenblood have a hidden button on the underside of his workbench? It'd probably be the last question I'd get to ask, but it was one I could answer. I reached up with my hoof and smacked it.
The floor fell out beneath me and suddenly I was tumbling down a flight of stairs. I finally reached the bottom, looking up at a smoky rectangle as Stygius darted through. I lay there a moment, my ribs aching and my lungs fighting for a few good breaths. On the wall beside me was another button, and I tapped it with my magic. The rectangle closed. Instantly the three bars upstairs began to mill about. Stygius helped me to my hooves.
Well now... wasn't this interesting?
I groaned as I staggered forward into a large basement. There were chalkboards on the walls covered with lists, schematics, and numbers. Most were written in code. As my body repaired itself from being cooked and battered, I picked out a few. Zebra relocation and protection program. Infiltration of Dawn Bay base. Tokomare resource allotment. Robronco resource acquisition. M.W.T. mergers. Blueblood's social calendar. How were any of these important?
Goldenblood had kept track of a great deal of Equestria; I wondered when he ever got around to sleeping...
In the corner were a number of terminals. When I approached, a little light flashed over one, and then swept over me in a shimmery wave. It passed over my leg, and then locked on my PipBuck. Then the screens began to flash to life one after the next. Four of them just displayed the O.I.A. logo: six circles with a ministry symbol inside each arranged in a ring surrounding an encircled moon. I noticed now how each ministry was cut off from the others, and from the central circle, linked only by the twisting lines. As if the O.I.A. wasn't to bring the ministries together at all...
Then the middle screen went dark, and a few lines of text appeared.
>EC-1101 status: Standby.
>Ministry Credentials Established.
>Equestria Defense Status: Unknown Critical.
>Palace Status: Complete.
>Redoubt Status: Complete.
>Tom: Complete. Charge 100%.
>Warning: Spark Flux Capacitors charge at 0%. Recharge Pending Activation.
>Project Horizons Status: Standby.
>Activate Project Horizons: Y/N?
I stared at the screen for almost a minute. I swallowed as I stared at the Y button. Wow... all I needed was to push one little button, and I'd know exactly what Goldenblood had planned. Just... just push the button... I almost did. I even moved my hoof over it... and a few weeks ago, I would have. But... I knew better. As much as I wanted to know what Horizons was, I didn't want to find out the reckless way, just in case Sanguine was right and it blew up half the Hoof. I typed 'N' and hit enter. A moment later the text disappeared and I sighed. Must be getting old. I watched new words appear on the terminal screen.
>Confirmed. Project Horizons Status: Standby.
>Warning: Project auto-activation in effect pending critical failure of EC-1101. Please update EDS as soon as possible. Auto-activation cannot be terminated if EDS is unknown.
I tapped several keys that weren't 'Y', but nothing happened aside from going back to the first prompt. I wanted to scream! What was the Palace? What was the Redoubt? Who the hay was Tom? What's a Spark Flux whatchamacallit? What the hell was Project Horizons supposed to do?! I reconsidered my choice of not hitting yes just to see what would happen!
Fortunately, sanity prevailed, and I stepped back. When I moved away, the beam hitting my PipBuck winked out and the screen went dark.
I sighed as I closed my eyes, hanging my head. Were there any answers? Or just more questions that lead to more questions that lead to still more questions? "Damn it..." I whispered to myself. Then Stygius tapped my shoulder, and I looked up in time to see more text appearing on the central terminal.
> I KNOW YOU'RE IN A BAD WAY RIGHT NOW, BLACKJACK.
I stared at the screen as a shocked stillness spread through me, raised a hoof toward the keys, and then slowly pulled it away.
> I KNOW YOU'RE HURT, FRUSTRATED, AND TIRED. YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH. MORE THAN ANYPONY HAS A RIGHT TO. THEN YOU STAND UP ON YOUR HOOVES AND MARCH ON. BECAUSE YOU CAN. BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO.
I sat back, and for a moment there was no Steel Rain. No impending panic or terror or frustration.
> I PRAY THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE WHAT THE MINISTRIES FAILED TO DO TWO CENTURIES AGO. I HOPE THAT YOU CAN, BECAUSE SOMEPONY MUST. THE SINS OF THE PAST MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR. THE MISTAKES MUST BE CORRECTED. ATONEMENT MUST BE PAID. EQUESTRIA NEEDS A SECOND CHANCE. RIGHT NOW, YOU AND OTHERS ARE CREATING THAT SECOND CHANCE. DON'T GIVE UP. I BELIEVE IN YOU, AND I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT.
>SPIKE
I stared at the screen for almost a minute, fully numb. Then the text disappeared, only to be replaced by:
>HIDE.
There was a resounding detonation, and for a moment I was certain that the generator had blown. Then it sounded again. The third time, the doors from the workshop blew inwards. Still, Spike didn't understand you couldn't hide from E.F.S.! No matter where we were in the room, they'd see our...
Wait. In the dark room, there were now suddenly a whole lot of blue bars. If they were blue to me, maybe they'd be red to the Rangers! The terminals stopped showing the logo and started showing scrolling technical data. Weird formulas. Things that looked like weapon schematics. So... that's the plan. I tugged Stygius's wing, and we scrambled behind some chalkboards in the corner as heavy hoofsteps descended the stairs. The first one down was Grenades, turning this way and that as he pointed at hostiles that weren't firing yet.
Then he looked over at the terminals. "Sir! You're going to want to see this!" a mare shouted. Okay, so it was a little hard to tell genders in those suits.
Steel Rain trotted down, his eyes immediately drawn to the chalkboards and then to the terminals. "What is this?" He breathed... heavily. With those hoses cut, I bet he wasn't getting quite as much air as he would have liked. Slowly he walked over to the other Ranger next to the terminals. With their backs to us, we started inching towards the stairs.
"Wait... this is a trap!" As he shouted, the schematics disappeared, replaced by the picture of a very ugly mule presenting his posterior, grinning as he looked back over his shoulder. There was a hiss and a pop as four turrets dropped from the ceiling, another four shot up from the ground, and all eight proceeded to pummel the pair with heavy machinegun fire!
I ran for the stairs; as much as I'd have liked to stay and finish him off, even one hit from those cannons would paste both of us. And in the hidden room, those cannons were going off in a roaring cloud of slate and shrapnel. I sure hoped Stygius's ears would be okay as we were blasted by the shockwave. Seriously, Rain. Get a minigun or something for indoor work.
Together we burst out into the workshop. Minigun was kneeling next to Flamers in the blasted-out library. The orange mare had her helmet off, blood dripping from her ears and nose as she struggled to breathe. As soon as we emerged, Minigun swiveled to face us, standing between me and the injured Ranger. As much as I'd have liked to leap out the giant hole Rain had blown in the wall, the purring minigun motor dissuaded me. Besides, if she was in the library, that meant that the front door was open! Grinning, I raced into the living room.
Unless Steel Rain had been smart enough to bring reinforcements.
Two more Rangers stood at the front door. One had a missile launcher and a grenade machinegun setup. The other had anti-machine rifles strapped to his sides. Already alerted by Minigun's fire, the pair were bringing their weapons to bear as we charged out of the workshop.
I changed course at once and darted for the first thing in front of me: the stairs. I doubted I'd outrun a missile's blast radius, but there weren't really many options besides running in the closest direction that was 'away'. Then suddenly Stygius wasn't above me anymore. The armored batpony disappeared, reappearing over Missile's head. What was that?! Had he just teleported? Kicks rained down, and while he didn't do much noticeable damage, it was hard to aim a rocket with somepony tapdancing on your head! The shot went low, exploding beneath the balcony and knocking me on my face.
I groaned as I lay there, sprawled out. "Really... I just want to check out of this funhouse..." I had a few seconds to compose myself, then the balcony jerked with a sharp crack. "Oh fuck no..." I groaned.
The balcony walkway collapsed with a shredding of wood. I heard a scream beneath me, followed by a crunch, and I rolled several times to get clear of the flying debris, coming with my face towards the ceiling. I spotted Minigun lying there wearing the walkway like a mantle.
"Kill her!" Steel Rain shouted from the workshop. Oh ponyfeathers, he did not sound happy at all. Stygius was keeping Missile occupied, swooping around his head and planting kicks and bucks. Anti-Machine, however, was free and clear to shoot at the mare lying on her back in front of him. Steel Rain came stomping out, and I was fairly certain he'd happily blast all four of us to finish me off.
I needed more gun. ...And I had it right in front of me! I reached out and grabbed AM's hoses with my fingers. Had he lowered his head, I would have been screwed. However, he pulled back, and that yanked me towards him. Kicking and scrambling, I spun around on my back beneath him, putting my hands where his forelegs met his body and my rear hooves to the sides of his pelvis. Setting myself, I grit my teeth and heaved AM completely off the ground!
His legs kicked wildly as I turned him to face directly towards the pony with the cannons and the shot-up armor. I grinned from ear to ear, looking at Steel Rain from upside down. My horn glowed as I reached up to the trigger mechanisms and fired the elevated Ranger's weapons as fast as I could. Even Steel Rain's armor couldn't take that. AM's guns were loaded with armor piercing and incendiary rounds; just right for your local cyberpony. My aim was shit, but my luck wasn't; two shots hit home, biting deep into his chest and neck, and even Steel Rain was forced to take cover as I finally saw blood! Damn, he was a tough son of a mule, though; multiple anti-machine rifle hits and he hadn't dropped? Still, if he could bleed, he could be beaten! He could be killed... if only he didn't have a bunch of other ponies trying to kill me first!
"Stygius! The door!" I shouted. I couldn't turn AM the full ninety degrees to shoot Missile as well. So instead I ejected his ammo clips, lowered my hind legs, and gave his nethers a sharp kick to occupy his time before I heaved him off to the side. I really had no clue if I did any harm, or even if AM had anything there to harm in the first place, but it was better than nothing. Just trying to buy myself time. The dusky batpony blinked over to the door in a flash of blackish-purply light and yanked it open, and I rolled and half jumped, half fell outside. I just had to find out how he did that trick! Later... when I wasn't running for my life.
A missile blasted the door closed behind me, and I slowly rose on wobbly legs. Okay, I was outside. Now if that generator would just overload... I could hear some kind of electrical crackle and an ominous hum rising from the water wheel. If I could just get out of here, I'd be one happy pony.
And of course there was another Ranger outside.
"Oh come on!" I shouted as I pointed my shotgun at her and unloaded four rounds before I realized something was wrong. She wasn't defending herself. Hell, she wasn't even armed; what sort of Steel Ranger wasn't armed? She just stood there. Was there anypony actually inside this thing? The armor moved, tracking me... so there did have to be somepony in there. But wh--
Unfortunately, the Ranger outside did have one potent weapon after all: she'd delayed me. The front of the house blew out in a great wave of reinforced debris that landed on me and the unarmed Ranger alike with a heavy crunch. Steel Rain stepped out through the dust cloud, his once magnificent armor now quite shot to hell but already slowly repairing itself, pink light smoothing the holes punched in his chest. "You've caused everypony quite enough trouble, Security." He ejected the spent cannon rounds as he stepped out. Stygius landed next to me, shifting the rubble so I could crawl free.
"You're just forgetting one thing," I said as I saw the blue glow coming through the broken wood paneling around the water wheel.
Steel Rain loaded two shells as Missile and Grenades stepped out with him. Their weapons trained on me. None of them were biting...
"The T-51 armor has a nasty vulnerability to spark discharges," I said with a grin. Then I glanced at the corner of the house, where things were glowing and crackling, and then back to him. Standing on the porch, the three glanced at each other. "A discharge... like the one that needs to happen... right now!" Still nothing. The three looked right at me, weapons trained. I sighed and sat, throwing my hooves wide. "I give up. You win," I said in disgust at whatever higher power had missed the perfect chance to blow the generator. "You may now proceed with the gloating and the explanation of your nefarious plot." Maybe humor would buy me the time I needed?
But Steel Rain wasn't in a particularly expository mood. All three pointed their weapons at me. "Try not to scrap the leg."
"Death from above!" came a scream. The Steel Rangers looked up in time to receive a faceful of Rampage. The striped mare smashed into the trio like a wrecking ball. She'd replaced her armor with a suit of reinforced steel and battered, sharpened spikes. She set her hoofclaws into the decking and slammed Steel Rain with a clawed applebuck upside his face that dented his armor. "That's for Mallet."
Then there was the resounding crack of an anti-machine rifle above me, and Grenades reeled back as the side of her helmet nearly came off. I looked up at the shining horn of Lacunae. A PipBuck gleamed on her hoof as she dropped down beside me. "Sorry we are late."
"But how... the shield..." I muttered weakly.
"Damn it. I should let you die, Blackjack! I bet Rampage you'd be crying for help inside a day!" Psychoshy yelled as she darted down and smashed her hooves against Missile. The power hooves on the ends of her legs flashed, knocking the Ranger back through the door. "Now I got to pay this cunt a thousand caps that I don't have! You owe me a thousand caps, Blackjack!"
"Gotta love Psychie's logic," Rampage laughed as she continued to slam against Steel Rain, keeping his cannons off me. "I gave you your power hooves back, didn't I?" she said as she shoved his barrels away from Lacunae and me. He responded by smashing her face with a swing of his armored head. She grinned even wider as the two struggled against each other.
"Only 'cause I called in a favor with Hammersmith. Honestly, Rampage, how you blow up metal armor is beyond--" The mare swooped into the air in preparation for another dive and suddenly found herself face to face with the dusky Stygius. She froze hovering there as she stared into his eyes. "...me?"
Stygius blinked and then gave a small smile. I stared up at the two through the hazy, smoky air as the yellow pegasus actually blushed. She was fidgeting! Right now in the middle of a battle. "Um... hi," she said as she looked at him. "I'm... ah..." and then she muttered something.
"She does this now?" Lacunae asked in my mind. She carefully aimed another shot at Grenades, who took cover inside the house. I got to my hooves, my whole body numb.
Missile seemed to feel the same way as she began to fire her grenade machinegun up at the two. They darted away, the yellow mare glaring down at the Ranger. "Hey!" Psychoshy's wings snapped her into a dive that she pulled up from just in time to streak a foot above the ground. "I'm talking..." she screamed as she swooped up in an uppercut. "...to a really..." she continued as she rose up and smashed her rear hooves into Missile's face. "...hot guy here!" The pegasus pirouetted in the air and brought her front hooves down on top of his head. "So piss off!" she finished as the Ranger collapsed in a heap. Then she darted back up to the stunned Stygius and said shyly, "So... ah... um... What's your name?"
I doubted Stygius would have been able to answer, even if he could talk. But when Anti-Machine stepped out the gaping hole in the front and leveled his barrels at the mare, the batpony darted down as a shadowy blur and tagged all four hooves against his head, staggering the Ranger. From the shades of red the pair were turning as he flew up again, I was pretty sure there wasn't going to be another chance of fun with him for me.
"We need to get out of here," I said as I saw Minigun joining the fight. The instant one of them distracted Rampage, we were going to get hit by Rain's cannons. For a moment, I took in the scorched grass and blackened, blasted-out front of the house. It didn't look all that different from the rest of the Wasteland now. There were fires licking the upper stories. I imagined the unused nursery burning up, and my gut clenched. Nothing stayed good in Hoofington. Nothing beautiful.
The battle was a lot more even now but still precarious. The Rangers had both firepower and resilience on their side, but now instead of running me into the ground, they had to pay some care towards their own defense. Lacunae and I kept up a rain of fire, Rampage struggled with Steel Rain, and Psychoshy and Stygius darted above them and rained down lightning kicks when their guards were down. Lacunae's anti-machine rifle and S.A.T.S.-enhanced marksponyship proved devastating as she stood magnificently within her shield. She and I blasted anypony that poked their heads out at us. They started getting smarter, though, moving in unison and firing at us in pairs so we couldn't keep them pinned.
Then Flamers came around the side of the house and hosed both Rampage and Steel Rain in a sheet of flame. The former's grip slipped a moment, and Steel Rain gave a great heave, smashing her to the ground. Then he turned towards us. "Teleport us out. Now!" I said in a rush.
"If I could do that, I would have before now. I can't teleport through that field," Lacunae said as she turned her rifle on Steel Rain. The Rangers, however, as if aware their leader's guns were about to be brought to bear, came out and fired as one. Lacunae focused, her shield flickering wildly at the firepower pouring down upon it. Anti-Machine and Minigun sent up a barrage at Stygius and Psychoshy; the pair of fliers darted about crazily. Despite their efforts, though, a line of minigun bullets stitched from Psychoshy's shoulder to her flank, amazingly not killing her but still sending her tumbling wildly and screaming as she tried desperately to get away before the weapon pulped her completely.
Stygius jumped through the air, blinking short distances in flickers of shadow to move beneath her and catch her in his hooves. The tough mare turned even redder; fortunately, her embarrassment wasn't going to last longer than a few more second--
Wait... what was that buzzing noise?
From the waterwheel area and the holes in the house's walls came a blue glow and an increasingly sharp, crackling buzz. Even Steel Rain paused, looking towards the source of the sound. Then everything went white.